


I met you once — ( In a dream )

by persopilliankore



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mythology, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Ben is a shapeshifter y'all, Deer, Dreams, F/M, Flowers, Fluff, Happy Ending, It's kinda like the force bond but its not the force bond?, Lots of kissing yay, Pining, Rey is his princess, Sexual Tension, Shapeshifting, Spoiler: Ben is a forest prince, Those idiots I love them, Virgin Ben Solo, Virgin Rey (Star Wars), ben is a lot of things ok, yes deer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:01:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22399780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/persopilliankore/pseuds/persopilliankore
Summary: He sucks in a deep breath and exhales, a pout forming on his plump lips and it's so distracting the way they-"Just Ben," He closes his eyes. "see me no more than that, 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚."OrWhere Ben and Rey are soulmates and Ben is more than meets the eye
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 12
Kudos: 128
Collections: For one is both and both are one in love: The Reylo Fanfiction Anthology's Valentine's Day Exchange





	I met you once — ( In a dream )

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thewayofthetrashcompactor (BriarLily)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BriarLily/gifts).



> Prompts: 
> 
> 1\. magically-connected Reylo   
> 2\. Reylo where one/both of them are cryptids (or other monsters)
> 
> \+ I hope I did well :D

Rey knew there was something wrong with Ben Solo the day she arrived at the town of Chandrila.

She had been a mere skinny child of six summers, with high hopes and her patience a cup of cheap wine filled to the brim. She was found in front of Maz Kanata's Inn, just a babe wrapped in a bundle of mismatched torn fabric. The town became under the realization that her parents were drunk travelers from Jakku's deserts who abandoned the little thing after indulging in too many drinks. 

They took her in and named her Rey after the sun's rays that burned in her hazel eyes.

Rey Kanata, the town sweetheart.

She would assist Maz in managing the Inn in the morning and then sneak off to play when she was excused. Making mud pies and playing with her poppets made of simple fabrics. The town's peasant boys and girls would clasp hands and dance and sing of tomorrow. The noble kids would stay away, too busy entertaining the thought of other things, of knighthood and ladylike attitudes.

Rey would snort at the thought of their castles and fancy curtains, of men sending their boys to become knights, of mothers sending their daughters to become ladies of tomorrow. The lot of them would race down the path of nunneries and priesthood, of simple celibacy and devotion to religion. 

The peasants were less fortunate. Most of them being poor illiterate offsprings of sick swineherds.

Rey taught herself. She would watch the knights spar and pick up her stick and copy their agility. She would sneak behind castle windows and watch tutors teach children of noble birth the gift of language. She taught herself how to read and write, plus the occasional swirl for a dance whenever a lord would throw a party.

She met young Solo because of a party.

The sun was setting and the Organa-Solo castle held a party in Maz's Inn to celebrate the return of Sir Solo, a noble knight who had just returned from his final mission with his lady's twin brother, Sir Luke. Rey had only been six at the time, attempting to get a sip of some strong rum from a burly mean man named Unkar Plutt who refused to give her a single drop of taste.

Maz had to usher her out, muttering about how little girls shouldn't drink such strong drinks and told her to play outside for a while. The little orphan scoffed and decided to walk around the forest for a bit. The moon had started to rise and the music from the Inn still reached her ears. Rey grinned to herself and toed her simple shoes off, feeling the grass under her bare feet.

She had wandered off into Takodana forest, dancing to her music and singing softly to the wind that waltz around her. Her long tunic swayed with her, her long brown locks brushing against her dirt-caked cheeks. Rey giggled and sung until she felt a peculiar feeling raise within her.

She whipped her head to the right and noticed dark eyes watching her.

A fawn.

Holding back her gasp, her hazel eyes fell on its scrawny black-furred body, dark brown spots covered its back, its _quite big_ ears twitched back against its head. Its eyes assessed her as well, the tension in its shoulders disappearing. It looked small and vulnerable, with eyes full of emotion Rey almost doubted that it's _just_ an animal.

She had danced with the fawn that night, the young deer jumping around and yelping whenever it accidentally bumps into her due to its featherweight size. She would giggle and attempt to touch its raven hair, only succeeding once before it yelped away in shock.

Rey finally had it in her grasp and placed one big kiss on its forehead before releasing it with a laugh and it cries with its big brown eyes wide. She _swore_ its eyes had colors of whiskey swirling in them, warmth radiating from it.

" _Ben! Benjamin!"_ A feminine voice interrupted their dance, the fawn's head whipping to the source of the voice, its shoulders drooping. " _Benjamin Organa Solo come here this instant!"_

To her shock and surprise, the fawn didn't run away from the voice, instead, it ran _towards_ it.

She _swore_ she saw a silver of pale skin appearing from the deer's face before it disappeared into the woods.

She had lost sight of it before she could know what just happened.

*** * ***

Rey had made her way to the Inn right after the fawn took off, she had sneaked in through the kitchen door in the back and quickly cleaned herself up in her room before making her way downstairs to where the party was still loud and had no sign of dying down. Max was busy bartending, Unkar Plutt was passed out, the man named Luke was chatting with a hairy giant and Sir Solo was-

Scolding a young boy?

Han Solo stood tall as he waggled a finger at a boy about Rey's age, while Lady Leia stood beside him with the same look of displeasure at the boy who just might be their child. Rey knew they had a son, but she also knew he had also hidden behind his castle walls training to be sent off to become a knight one day, like his father and uncle.

She made her way near to hear their conversation, loud enough to reach her ears.

" _Don't ever go to Takodana forest again! What have we told you?"_

_"Ben, you're still young and fragile you could've been-"_

"I didn't wander far! I swear-" The boy named _Ben_ spoke up and Rey's curiosity got the best of her as she stood close enough for her to finally see his face and for him to finally notice her. He stood a good few inches taller than her and perhaps two years older, with wavy raven hair short enough to reveal his prominent ears. His skin was pale with moles and freckles decorating his cheeks and the collarbone his dark tunic failed to hide. 

Once he noticed her, his big brown eyes widen and his mouth hangs open, and Rey couldn't help but notice how the tips of his ears and cheeks reddened at the sight of her.

She couldn't help but give him a big grin, feeling the need to befriend this _Ben._ Instead, his eyebrows furrowed and he looked away to resume his argument with his parents. Rey frowned, and her eyes burned the back of his head in a glare before she noticed the _spots_ on the back of his neck. She blinked and rubbed her eyes and narrowed them.

His tunic was large and failed to cover the back of his shoulders and the top of his back and nape of his neck. She could see dark brown spots on his skin, besides the blemishes on his shoulders and nape. She blinked, remembering the raven fawn with the same spots on its back. Rey sucked in a deep breath, eyeing the boy's scrawny form and his prominent ears, and the big brown eyes that gave her a sense of déjà vu.

Benjamin Solo was _not_ ordinary.

*** * ***

Rey would wander to the forest every day of the week, hoping she would catch sight of the pretty fawn. 

And she does, every single day.

Every single day she would dance while the fawn would jump around her, she would pick yellow flowers and the fawn would help her, picking up flowers with its milk teeth and handing them to her. She would often sneak a kiss or two on the fawn's muzzle or cheek, and she would giggle and watch as it shakes on its skinny legs as it jumps away from her with a surprised look on its face that made it look almost... _human._

Maz would smile at Rey when she tells her of the fawn, and of how fond she is with it. Maz would even allow Rey to take some blueberries and hickory nuts as snacks to share with the fawn who immediately would accept it from Rey's hands.

She would see the fawn everyday and she considered it her best friend.

Ben, however, was a boy she rarely would see. She sometimes would catch glimpses of him from his castle window when Luke is tutoring him, and Ben always had that displeased grim expression on his face from Skywalker's teachings. Sometimes she would see him climb a tree in front of the church gates and plop down on a branch to read a good book while the other children mocked him from down below. 

Rey noted that he looked quite lonely, hiding behind a tree or running away shyly when she attempts to speak to him, his cheeks blazing a shy color of pink whenever he sees her. During rare occasions, she would have the opportunity to plop down beside him on the tree and share an apple or two with him, a welcomed silent affair.

One thing Rey didn't like, to add, was a grim man who was always beside Ben. He was claimed to be another one of his tutors, and perhaps the closest once to Ben, but Rey found that this man had terrible intentions. His name was Arthur Snoke and Rey decided that she didn't like him very much. What made it worse is that rumors of his unfaithfulness and dark _magic_ made Rey shudder at the thought of Ben falling into the man's slender fingers and tenebrous whispers.

Other than that, everything was perfect.

Everything was perfect until one cold morning.

Benjamin Solo was to be sent on his journey of knighthood like his father before him.

She hadn't seen the fawn since that cold morning, since she locked eyes with the young boy as he left the town's gates at the young age of only eight years old with his tutor, Snoke.

*** * ***

Throughout the years, Rey had heard rumors of Ben's knighthood journey. 

He had become a page boy at the age of nine for a fellow lord for a few years until he reached peak boyhood at thirteen. Those four years were filled with changes for him, Rey had heard that he would sleep far away from the other boys. That he still climbs trees and hides while reading a good book, which earned him a scolding from Snoke. 

At fourteen, he became a squire and was readied for battle with older knights. Rey would watch Han pace in front of the castle and Leia prays in the churches as they awaited the messenger to hand them a letter from Ben and if he was uninjured and safe. She would watch the smiles etched into their faces as their eyes hungrily swallow the words from the letter, pride swelling in their hearts at their son's successful training.

When he became sixteen, letters from him had stopped arriving.

Han and Leia would await the messenger, knowing they won't receive a handwritten message from their son, instead, they would be given a simple paper indicating he was alive and fed from Snoke. Soon enough, news of Ben Solo's victories in battle spread across Chandrila and all over. Of his brutality on the battlegrounds, of his sword skills and how he cuts his enemies down.

He was officially knighted at the age of twenty-one in a glamorous ceremony that celebrated his virility and masculinity. He would then become known as _Kylo Ren_ , or even the warrior of darkness. Fear had sprouted in his opponents when it was said that he _killed_ Snoke on the battlefield. Rey knew it was a rumor, but something deep within her felt as if Ben _did_ end Snoke. 

It wasn't long until gossips of his return to Chandrila started to storm the town when he became twenty-seven, finally deciding to return home and serve a lord from Chandrila.

During these times, Rey's dreams had been plagued with honeyed whispers of a man that promised he would return to her. She would _feel_ his warm hands caressing her cheeks and his lips brushing against her forehead. She had asked Luke about these dreams, and he would scoff and tell her that she should stop reading tales of knights and their princesses. 

She once swore to him those were _real_ dreams as if she had met the man before.

Rey had heard the town women gush and speak of Benjamin in hushed whispers, that he was no longer a scrawny boy, but a broad-shouldered man. She would roll her eyes and giggle at that thought, can't bear the thought of the book-loving shy boy looking like every lady's dark desires.

She was wrong.

Because when the son of Organa entered the town on a cold morning with his black stallion and when his eyes locked with hers she had felt an unfamiliar tingle and flutter in her stomach. He was adorned in dark garments and silver armor, his big gloved hands on his helm as he was welcomed by the town's people, yet his eyes were always on her.

His wavy raven locks reached the nape of his neck now, the tips of his ears barely visible. His pink lips looked _sinful_ when he gave the ghost of a smile when his mother embraced him. Rey's eyes widened when he passed her, bowing his head down in courtesy as he assessed her before he walked away to the Inn where they would celebrate his return.

That night she had helped Maz serve the men who congratulated Ben on his victories and return. It didn't help that every time she looked at him, she would feel a strange brush against her spine and the sound of the man's honeyed voice in her dreams whisper in her ear. She would attempt to avert her eyes from his whenever she hands out the men's drinks, but she could _feel_ his eyes on her.

He wasn't as shy as he was all those years ago. He had changed.

She knew she changed, too. Her narrow hips had feminine curves that were prominent in her simple dress, her chest had shy swells of flesh covered by her bodice. Her brown locks pinned into three buns for when she works, few errant curls stroking her golden cheeks. She knew he towered over her even though she was tall for a woman her size and age. Even though Rey though she looked quite average, the number of suitors she had throughout the years had proved her wrong.

She always refused every one of them, the man's voice etched deep into her mind persuaded her so. She didn't know what she was waiting for, but she felt that she already had it, so far away yet embracing her in her loneliest moments. 

_Rey._

She froze, eyes widening at the echo of the familiar voice that clouded her mind for a few years now. She whipped her head, looking around, she didn't know for what or for _who_ but when her eyes landed on Ben's form, she felt strangely satisfied that he's here. She noticed his Adam's apple bob and the tips of his ears redding just as she felt her cheeks heating up.

Rey then finally decides to return to work before she melts from the heat on her cheeks. After a few minutes of working, she decides that this is unbearable, having his eyes on her, and found the need for a deep gulp of fresh air. 

Excusing herself and asking for a break from Maz and she's out into Takodana forest, the scene very familiar. The sun setting, the moon rising, and the Inn's music reaching her ears.

She toes off her simple shoes, and it might be no such a good idea, feeling the grass under her feet.

She does something she hadn't done in _years._

She danced.

*** * ***

Rey knew it was too cold, yet her hips and dress swayed with the wind and her dance as she hummed her song. Perhaps it was instinct, but she froze right on the spot where dead bushes lie, where she met the black fawn all those years ago. 

Perhaps it's fate because when she looked to the right, her eyes met dark pools of honey. Her mouth hung open, gaze wavered at the sight of the creature a few feet away from her. Its raven fur made it look menacing and it's towering height made Rey's heart ram against her ribcage in fear and warning. Large antlers on his head branched out, the beast could easily lift her with its antlers and throw her up to the air.

 _That_ was no normal buck.

A white-tailed buck from Takodana forest would reach her torso at _best_ , yet _this_ towered two heads above her own, its hooves larger than her face. Its breath fanned against her face, chest heaved up and down. And then it opened its mouth and-

A flower dropped from its mouth.

Oh _._

_Oh._

She hadn't noticed _that._

She blinked, looked into its eyes again. Its ears tipped back and eyes wide as it leaned down to grasp the yellow flower with its teeth again and lift it. Rey hesitantly took the flower, looking at the stag with a confused gaze as her fingers brushed against the yellow petals. It was such a pretty flower that perhaps had been lucky to survive the beginning of winter, with a faint pleasant scent.

Rey gasped.

" _Fawn..."_ She found herself cooing, and suddenly fear disappeared and was replaced with joy as her hands made their way to the buck's face, the creature backing away a few steps before freezing up. Rey grinned and caressed the stag's ears and whatever she could reach of its antlers. The spots on its back had disappeared due to final maturity, its skinny legs were now powerful limbs.

"Dance with me again?" She asked, and it obliged.

It wasn't long until Rey was comically dancing to a song of fairytales, the stag circling her and jumping occasionally, Rey shaking with laughter every time he does it. The moonlight shone on them and Rey wasn't sure if she was hallucinating, but the buck was shrinking slowly and slowly. She slowly began to notice how soft its fur is and how _humane_ its eyes are is when she remembered how she used to kiss the fawn when they were both young.

Rey felt brave and suddenly wrapped her arms around its thick trunk and planted a kiss right under its right eye. He froze and his ears stood erect, eyes closing and shoulders drooping. Rey planted a few more kisses and caressed its soft fur.

"You're so beautiful," She giggled into its neck as it nuzzled her hair. "such a strong beast." 

It was as if something snapped within the buck because one second he was nuzzling her hair and the next he was pulling away from her and running off deep into the woods. Rey stood shocked, blinking with a pout on her lips.

She went back to the town with the flower in her hair.

*** * ***

She refused to enter the Inn, wanting to feel the cold fresh air a little longer as she sat by her favorite tree near the Organa castle. The same tree Ben used to climb and read on, where he would hide away from the other children and their grubby hands. 

Rey heard a twig snap.

She wasn't alone.

Quickly, she stood up and looked over her shoulder, an eyebrow raised at the familiar face of the man behind her. Benjamin stood a few feet away, free of his armor and dressed in a simple tunic and black breeches. His tunic hugged his shoulders and made him look bigger than he already is, his long legs letting him take only two long paces before he was right in front of her. Rey blinked and arched her neck to look up at him with her hands on her hips.

He purses his full lips and averts his gaze, his jaw working as if he's searching for something to say. Rey watches as he awkwardly raises a _bare_ hand to scratch the back of his neck. She tried to ignore how big his hands seem and how well they could engulf her nimble ones.

"What should I call you?" She breaks the silence, his eyes snap down to meet hers. "M'lord Benjamin or Sir Kylo Ren?"

He sucks in a deep breath and exhales, a pout forming on his plump lips and it's so _distracting the way they-_

"Just Ben," He closes his eyes. "see me no more than that, _please_."

She blinked, caught out of guard with his deep baritone voice. She _swears_ she had heard this voice before, whispering into her ear at night, promising himself to her for _years_ . Her lips parted as she stood frozen. Was he the one that plagued her dreams? The one that swore he would return and embrace her, _kiss_ her lips when she wanted him to? 

Did she haunt his dreams as well?

Her dreams had begun once he left for his journey, the same time the fawn had disappeared. The voice was not always of a man, it all began with a soft hushed voice of a shy boy her age wanting to read stories to her. Then it transformed into the breaking voice of an adolescent male who was interested in her life and everyday struggles. And once she had become a woman, the husky voice of an adult male curious of adult desires and emotions had grasped the reins of her life and tainted her dreams with hushed whispers of embrace and kisses on the lips.

 _I am simply a man,_ the man in her dreams would say, _see me no more than that, please._

She felt a tug at the back of her mind, of a memory. Of the fawn's eyes and the buck's gaze, of the man's voice and Ben's baritone. Once she opened her mouth, words spilled and surprise was drawn on Ben's face, his eyes widening.

"I met you in a dream once," She choked out. "I swear by it."

Her hands clenched and she looked down. "Call me stupid- _foolish_ , but I feel like I've known you my entire life. I have met you in the forest, perhaps only your gaze, and I have met you atop an old willow tree. I have met you at an Inn as well, and again in the forest."

She met his hickory eyes again, and there was awe, pain and hope written all over his eyes and facial expressions. 

"Am I mad?" She whispers. 

"No," There was a glint in his eyes. "I don't believe so."

*** * ***

Frozen and confused, Rey blinked up at him. She could _feel_ his gaze burn through her, and she felt helpless, a familiar feeling she felt when she dreamed of the man. Vulnerable and bare, a feeling she decided that she doesn't like so much. Yet she welcomed it right now, In front of a noble's son that radiated an aura she had touched before, strong shoulders she had felt when her dreams took a strong twist that thrust her into a world of desire.

She wondered about the muscles on his back, whether they were covered with scars and blemishes, or whether he still has those dark spots. He was silent and still until his gaze became too much to bear. She swallowed and looked away, fiddling with her simple shift

He quickly took the hint, his eyes assessing her one last time for the night before he turned around and walked away. She couldn't help but set her eyes on the bare nape of his neck, expecting to see the dark spot that had been right at the center of his skin. Except, there was nothing of that sort.

_The buck didn't have his dark spots either._

Rey knew that fawns would have spots on their back to help them in hiding from predators, they would then lose it after they reach the age of maturity, just like the stag. It was a ridiculous thought, but she remembers the dark spots on Ben were familiar to the fawns. 

She shouldn't have drunken the watered-down wine _dammit_.

*** * ***

A dark animal would wander Takodana forest every night.

Rey would watch from afar, curiosity biting at her skin. 

Sometimes she would hear a howl of a lonely wolf, strong and throb for a companion. _Big_ paw prints would be found on the forest floor. She'll hear the sound of wings beating against the wind and the sight of a large crow landing down the branch of a tree.

She would spot the buck from time to time, scouting the area and gazing at her now and then. The wolf is one she always attempted to avoid, for it was larger than any dire wolf corpse she had seen the hunters bring from hunts. Its fur thick and raven and its stride long and fast. 

Strangely, all the animals she had seen had always attempted to find a flower when she was near. The buck would walk straight up to her and present her with once, the wolf would often place the flower a few feet away from her as if it was trying not to scare her away, while the crow would fly above her and shower her with _flower petals_ right on her hair.

She would often return home with flowers of diverse colors laced in her hair.

Rey would have felt very flattered if it didn't raise her suspicions. 

That all the animals had one thing in common.

Dark eyes bathed in amber hues and swirls of whiskey.

*** * ***

" _Wait, what."_ Rose narrowed her eyes at Rey. " _What_ do you need again, Honey? I thought I heard that you need a type of sleeping herb to prevent dreams of _one hunk of a man? Please_ correct me if I'm wrong."

Rey worried her bottom lip between her teeth, cheeks redding. The town herbalist, Rose, was not as helpful as Rey thought she would be when she asked her for a special type of herb. A type of herb to end those damned dreams. She didn't mind them before, even welcoming those dreams that took her mind off of things, of the man's voice soothing her and promising himself to _her._

That was before Ben came back.

It has been about two weeks since he came back and her dreams became downright _sinful._

It wasn't innocent kisses on her cheeks nor the bashful embraces and the long conversations. Instead of _just_ the husky voice, she would dream of a body solid against her own, of parted lips and chests heaving up and down in excitement and euphoria. She dreamt of lips pressing against her skin, on _every_ part of her body. Rey could even recall a head of raven hair kissing her navel and traveling down to her _thighs and she would gasp_ from her sleep sweating and empty. 

She allowed it to go on for a little longer, her little guilty pleasure. 

Until the faceless man now had a face.

Ben's face, Ben's wide shoulders, his long legs, his _lips, his_ eyes are now visible to her in the haze of pleasure when she's unconscious. He would whisper sweet words to her while dragging his body against hers, his big hands would brush against her locks gently. What scared her the most is the loving gaze he presents her, stripping himself bare and revealing himself to her, it felt too real to be considered _just_ a dream.

She knew it had become too much when she woke up one day _aching,_ skin on fire as something within her screams for touch unfamiliar to her. A certain type of touch.

And she blames Benjamin for that. She also knew that seeing him every day might have caused the voice to morph into his form specifically. But she can't help it. It would've been a normal day in the town where Rey would run off to pick a couple of apples near the woods for Maz, and coincidentally, Ben would be there reading a book under a tree.

Or he would be training, Rey watching in awe as he strikes the ragdolls with his sword. In awe at how his back and thigh muscles would _move_ with his every move, or how his dark hair sticks to his skin from all the excretion.

Perhaps she shouldn't have seen him bare by the river bank. Where it was a cold afternoon and Rey had to wash her laundry, only to stumble upon him naked and washing grime from his hair because of a recent hunt. She _did_ run off quickly before he noticed her, but it had been too late and she had already caught sight of his scarred chest and _his-_

It was the same night where she had the _most_ filthy dream of it all, of messy kisses and rocking hips. And this is when she decided to end this. The dreams _had_ been pleasurable and gave her the filthiest of fantasies to think about when she was alone, but something within her felt _guilty_ at thinking of Ben like that.

So, deciding she had enough with those inappropriate visions, she came to visit Rose for some herbs to give her a dreamless night of sleep. 

Or so she hoped.

" _Yes,"_ Rey pouted. "He's been haunting me for _years_ , and it's-"

She swallows down the lump in her throat and meets Rose's gaze, her hands rubbing up and down her arms. 

"It's making me want things _I_ can't- _shouldn't_ want." She gave Rose a pleading look, the Tico narrowing her eyes at her before sighing. She started to pack up a quick basket of things Rey could use, carefully placing them and covering them with a red handkerchief. 

"Try chewing cherries now and then, cherry tea could work as well." Rey felt a smile climb up her face as Rose began. "Lemon balm _is great_ in tea and could increase calmness. _Oh,_ Chamomile is pretty good at that as well, amazing for relaxation and insomnia."

*** * ***

The world was against Rey, it seems.

Because just as she was leaving Rose's shop, with a smile on her face and the meds basket in her hands, she had bumped into a solid chest and almost fell if the guy didn't catch her. Her face _buried_ in the poor guy's chest before she pulled away and looked up with an exclamation. " _Oi_ ! Look where you go- goi- _Oh_."

Ben Solo looked down at her, his hands holding her arms tightly, warmth radiating from his bare hands as he gave her a raised eyebrow. _Don't think of the dreams, just don't-_ too late, because Rey had just remembered every single sexual encounter she had with Ben in her dreams. 

She flushed and pulled away, painting a shy smile on her face to ward off the awkward feeling tugging up her spine. Ben pursed his lips and his gaze fell on the basket, and then on her face, then on the basket then back to her face.

"Chamomile tea?" He spoke, and Rey _needs to forget how the voice whispers in her ears._

"Sleeping problems," Rey nodded, biting her lower lip, not noticing Ben's eyes at how her lips flushed a delicious pink every time she tugged at them with her teeth. "just a couple of dreams that I plan to get rid of." 

_That_ caught his attention.

Since he left for knighthood dreams had haunted him. A feminine voice soothing him when days were rough and when loneliness followed him like the plague. The voice was faceless until he became fifteen years of age, revealing Rey's face and eyes, gazing up upon him with awe. He secretly felt overjoyed that it had been _Rey._ Because _Rey_ was kind to him and liked to speak to him, unlike the other children in Chandrila. 

Because _Rey_ wasn't afraid of his _other_ forms. Even if she doesn't know who he truly is and how he had become the way he was, beastly forms and low growls were a cruse bestowed upon him from Snoke, a dead man he had slain.

The man had told him to stop thinking about _some whore from Jakku._

Kylo Ren had cut Snoke's middle and left him to rot on the battlefield.

No one should taint his dreams, nor their simple innocence. 

His dreams _were_ innocent. 

_Until_ he arrived back to Chandrila and witnessed how _well_ she had grown and how _beautiful_ she had become. His dreams were tainted with desire, hurried kisses and rocking hips. And he couldn't help but notice her golden skin and the slope of her neck, nor could he ever forget her swaying hips when he came to her in the forest, a bitter taste in his mouth from the flower he picked up with his teeth.

He doesn't know why he's doing this, trying to _impress_ her that is.

Whenever she passed by, he would pretend he was busy with something, sparring or reading a book. He knew he should speak to her, and perhaps ask if he could _court_ her like she deserved to be courted by a knight. He would bring her banquet of flowers every day, he would take her on a stroll in the forest maybe, perhaps she would let him _kiss_ her? 

But he knew he couldn't do that. 

He wouldn't be able to do that. 

He _knows_ that he _shouldn't._

Because she's _perfect_ and everything he wishes he could touch.

And he's not that.

He's rough and angry, and stubborn and a _mess._

Oh, and he's not even human and he should stop spending time with her in his _other_ forms.

So that's that.

_Maker, she's tormenting him._

"Nightmares?" He finds himself asking, trying to stretch this conversation longer than it should be. Rey felt her heart flutter and she found herself opening her mouth to answer him.

" _No,_ no, no...they're really lovely dreams actually." _She shouldn't talk about this with him_ , she pursed her lips, her cheeks heating up as he rose an eyebrow at her.

"Why wouldn't you want to have those lovely dreams, then? Pray tell, Rey." Ben couldn't help but be curious, about what _type_ of dreams his sweet Rey was having.

He winced.

 _His_ sweet Rey.

She isn't _his_ dammit.

" _Well_ ..." She trails off and looks up at him through her lashes. "dreams that make me want things I shouldn't want- _can't_ get."

_Oh._

Ben blinks, mind stirring with thoughts that could be deemed inappropriate to the town's people, but he can't help it. _What does Rey want?_

"I've dreamt as well," He blurts out, failed at stopping himself. "It made _me_ crave things I couldn't get." 

Rey looks at him with parted lips, shock clouding her eyes. " _What_ can't you get? What do you want, Ben?"

His name rolling down her tongue made his heart stutter, he clenched his jaw. 

" _Too much_ , I want too much," He clenches his eyes tightly closed. " _I'm_ too much."

 _No, you're not, you're perfect._ Rey frowned and Rey found herself stepping closer to his still form, her basket forgotten on the ground as she lifts her hand to his bicep in a ghost of a touch, afraid she'll do something wrong if she touches him.

"Too much?" She mumbles loud enough for him to hear, his eyes fluttering open and widening at how she moved closer to him. He felt his feelings bubble up to the surface, of wanting to pull her closer and tell her about it all, _everything._ Who he was, _what_ he is. But he forced those down, attempting to tame the beast for a little while longer.

He steps closer, his chest only a few inches away from her own.

"I'm a selfish man, Rey _._ " His voice a low, hushed whisper, hot breath fanning against her face. Her hands near his bicep drop down in front of her, hands close to his large ones. Her heart fluttered when her pinky finger brushed lightly against his knuckle. She leans a little closer, her lips close to his chin, his scent of pine and rosemary.

Ben hesitated as he raised his hands, the tips of his fingers caressing her knuckles and brushing up her elbow slowly as if he was afraid he will scare her away. She kept her gaze locked with his when his hands were placed on her waist, her arms slowly sliding up and hands resting against the planes of his chest.

"What are we doing?" Rey found herself whispering to the man, _his_ hands on her waist, grasping the thin fabric of her dress. He was staring at her like he found all the answers for everything like she was a treasure to be protected and held and Rey could _hear_ her heart stuttering and felt his breath hitching once her chest brushes slightly against his.

It could be deemed inappropriate, being this close for a man and a woman out of wedlock. Sure, both of them were well hidden under the shade of the old willow tree, but it's supposed to be _wrong._

It was anything but. Rey decided she didn't care much anyway, already half in love with the warmth he was radiating and they weren't even in a full embrace.

"I don't know," He gnaws at his bottom lip. "but it feels right... _sublime."_

They were so close, Rey was being pulled in his orbit like he was to hers, she didn't even realize she was on the tips of her toes until his lips were a thin hair away from hers.

"Yes," Her eyes half-lidded, and the tip of his nose brushing against hers. "I've met you before, in a dream, _I'm sure_."

He hummed and nuzzled her cheek, his lips brushing against the corner of her parted mouth. Her eyes fluttered, lashes grazing his pale cheek when his mouth pressed against her cheek, a chaste kiss. A shuddered sigh leaves her lips as she leans closer, his hands supporting her back and his lips caressing her cheeks.

He leans back and gazes down at her lips, the way she's bitten and pecked at the flesh left it red and kissable. He meets her eyes, wide and expectant. "You've always haunted my dreams, as well."

She inhaled sharply, blinking up at him. He swallows a lump in his throat and slowly unravels his arms from around her, Rey found herself leaning towards him and scrambling for more of a touch of his heat, but then she caught herself and recoiled. He brushes an errant curl from her face, his thumb brushing the apples of her cheeks as she moves her head and presses a kiss against his palm. He exhales softly, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Meet me," He leans forward and whispers in her ear. "Takodana forest tomorrow night as the sun sets."

He gifted her one last kiss on her forehead before leaving her under the willow tree, lips parted and a heart yearning for more.

*** * ***

The way Maz stared at her after her big revelation made Rey worry.

She had raced back into the Inn after her and Ben's- _ahem_ \- meeting and flooded Maz with unanswered questions.

She told her _everything._

Well, almost everything.

She asked her about the dreams and the man she sees (of course, she doesn't tell her what the man does in her dreams, mind you) and how the man resembles Sir Solo far too much. She told her that she had met Ben today (of course, she didn't tell her of how he embraced her and kissed her, nope) and that he had dreams of her as well.

Rey watched Maz's eyes widen when she spoke of the buck and how the other animals had strange eyes, almost too human. She told her of the fawn and even Ben Solo's _eyes._

"It seems weird but," Rey bit her lip. "The _animals_ had beautiful eyes, Ben has beautiful eyes- oh maker I'm rambling aren't I? Have I finally gone mad?"

Maz blinked and exhaled a sigh, a small smile appearing on her lips.

"Forest prince," The corners of her eyes crinkle as she grins at Rey. "the poor boy finally returned, hm?"

The gates of truth threw open at Rey.

"I'm sure you know of Snoke, don't you, lovely? Of course, you do. Now, Snoke was known to have a dark magical force and strong chains on the forest you love so much. The woods were in despair, depressed." Maz's eyes lowered before she chuckled softly. "Until Benjamin came by."

"Young Solo was a stoic, sullen boy, he would often run to the woods to escape. What his parents didn't know is that the force, _nature_ had chosen him as its heir. Snoke felt threatened, and I believe that's why he loomed over Ben like a hawk to control him.

"Being the force's heir has its perks, lovely, and he was given the first to shapeshift. The fawn you adored was surely Ben Solo, I've seen the dark spots and noticed the wobbly legs. Poor boy still was learning how to control his other side." 

Rey blinked, mouth parted. The sweet fawn, the _buck_ she learned to love...

Ah, perhaps she wasn't mad at all.

"Ben has killed Snoke and finally returned to his home, and I believe that's why you've seen him more clearly in your dreams and his other forms in the forest."

Maz held Rey's hands, caressing them. "You both share dreams, Rey."

_Share dreams? As in-_

Oh _._

 _Oh_.

Her cheeks darkened. 

_Well, their dreams were not pure,_ _in fact, very filthy._

"It's rarely heard of, sharing dreams," Maz says. "but when it is, it usually means that both of you are soulmates, bound by force unbreakable."

"According to popular belief, It usually would _ignite_ a bond, a soulmate bond, by a first meeting. In your case, you have met the young Solo in the forest in his fawn form, that might've started the bond. Sharing dreams and sometimes even _emotions_ make you feel closer to the person than you actually are." Maz said, giving Rey a quirked eyebrow with the corners of her lips rising. 

Rey stares at her with parted lips, processing what Maz had just said.

"I-I...I'm-" Rey swallowed, eyes wide. "I'm Ben Solo's soulmate?"

"Darling, you're soulmates with the forest prince of Takodana."

*** * ***

The woods were quiet tonight as Rey walked through, the wind was calm as it blew, her dress lifting just a little bit to her shins. Her heart was racing, with excitement or fear, she did not know. She had always seen Ben as this sort of friend that comforts you without the use of words until the man in her dreams began to look like him.

She remembered the week before he left for knighthood when she sat down beside him on the tree and with tears welling up in her eyes at the news that he will soon depart. 

He had stroked her hair and even gave her a quick embrace that made her feel better without the usage of words.

It was already difficult to have shameless dreams about him, yet now with the knowledge of being _bonded_ to him was harder to think about. He had already pecked her cheek, doesn't that at least mean he likes her? She bit back a smile at that thought, she knew _she_ liked him.

A lot. 

In her line of thought, Rey had barely noticed the figure behind her until his hand brushed against her shoulder. She jumped and turned around only to meet the amused gaze of none other than her soulmate.

_Soulmate._

She sucks in a deep breath and paints a grin on her face. "Ben- you surprised me!" 

Air exhales from his lips, almost sounding like a laugh as he leans down and kisses her forehead, hands reaching up to hold her own. She feels instant warmth and comfort and maybe this soulmate thing is doing things to her-

"Come," He grasped her hand tightly and leads the way through the forest, Rey glaring at the gloves that separated his bare hands from touching hers.

_Maker, what's wrong with her?_

He had led her right in front of a thick tree, with large branches decorated with leaves. He turns to her with a quirked eyebrow and the corner of his lips lifting in a small smirk. "Can you still climb?"

She couldn't help the small smile climbing on her face that soon turned into a blinding grin. She rose an eyebrow and mindlessly bumped her hips against his, rolling her sleeves to her forearms. "Is that a challenge, Solo?" 

"When is it not a challenge for you?" He said it in an almost laugh, placing his palm against the tree's bark. "Ladies first...unless you want me to carry you of course." His nose wrinkles and his lips turn upwards as she scoffs and sticks her tongue out playfully. 

A small part of her _wanted_ him to carry her, to wrap her arms around him while he lifts her. But Rey could not let an opportunity of showing off her climbing skills down so easily. She toes her shoes off and lifts her skirts to her knees, tying it to not get in the way. She catches Ben's eyes on the thick stockings adorning her legs before he turned around, the tips of his ears red. 

She bites her lips and cracks her knuckles before digging into the tree's bark and lifting herself to reach one of the closer smaller branches and gripping it. She could feel Ben's eyes on her she finally reached a few feet above his head, but just as she looked down, she had almost lost her balance if he quickly took a hold of the back of her knee. 

She gasped when her foot almost slipped, and she went backward. She yelped when he was suddenly right behind her, the backs of her shins settling on his shoulder. "It's okay, you'll be fine. I'm right behind you." His voice was gentle and comforting and her heart was pounding with sweat gathering at the nape of her neck.

Rey breathed through her nose and continued her way up until the biggest branch, finally plopping herself down and gripping tightly into the branch. Ben sat right beside her, stretching his arms above his head and looking down at her. "Must've been a while since you last climbed, huh?" She nods, finding her bare feet very interesting as she swung her legs back and forth.

She really should mention what Maz told her, and what she already knew about him. How his forms were different than his human build and how he would bring her _flowers_ whenever she visited the woods. Perhaps he liked her too, flowers and kisses and all, then why was she so anxious?

The fear of abandonment crept up her throat like bile ready to spill, her face paling at the thought. She might not remember her parents very well, but enough stories she heard from the town proved that they didn't want her. The never did. So why would _he_ want her? She practically doesn't know who her parents are, where she was originally from even. 

A nobody. 

She felt her eyes sting as tears threatened to well up until Ben lifted his hand and caressed her cheek softly, tucking a hair behind her ear. "What are you thinking of?" 

"Nothing, none at all." She gives him a quick smile that she made up, and watches as his eyebrows furrow and a frown tugs at his pink lips. She wants to smooth the crease in the middle of his brows with her thumb until he interrupted her line of thought. " _Rey."_

She froze at the sound of her name in his mouth, different from the other times he had said it before. This time it was a low husky sound free of pity like he wants to _understand_ her, know her. 

" _Rey,"_ The second time he says it she shivers. "tell me."

She swallows as he takes off his right glove and carefully engulfs her left hand. They both suck in a deep breath at the current that passed through them when their bare skin met, more intimate than the times had cupped her cheeks even. She looks up at him and he's waiting for her to say something.

"You..." She chews on the insides of her cheek. "You're different."

He blinks at her. "Different?"

"And you're also..." She closes her eyes shut. "You're special and you're also the...the _prince_ of this place." 

Silence.

"How-" He purses his lips, eyes wide as he stared at her, she could _feel_ his gaze and how his hand tightened its hold on her hand. "Rey- how did-"

"I met you as a fawn, the first time." She opens her eyes and leans closer to him as if telling him a secret. "I saw the spots on your back, Ben. And Maz only proved my curiosity correct...I- she...she also said that a bond had begun when I met you and that's why we...we see each other in our dreams, no matter what we're dreaming of."

He stares at her in awe, and she watches as his jaw works and how he licks his lips and looks down. "Soulmates." He said. 

"Yes."

He looks strangely... _happy_ when he lifts his head, eyes of whiskey ambers brightening up as he grins, cute crooked teeth flashing at her. She couldn't fight her grin as he scooted closer to her and catches both of her hands in his.

"Force, I thought it would frighten you-" He begins, hardly controlling hard his heart is ramming against his ribcage. "I didn't know how I would even- _Rey."_ He couldn't contain his smile, nor his excitement apparently, wrapping his arms around her and scooping her against his chest. He pressed his lips against her temple, her hair, anywhere he could reach.

Rey reddened and giggled, wrapping her arms against him for support, hiding her face in his shoulder. They rocked silently, innocent caressing and sweet kisses on the cheek exchanged. Their voices a whisper and their lips an inch apart when they talked to each other.

"You were lonely, weren't you." She whispers against his neck, pressing a kiss on his jaw. He relaxes against her and murmurs in her hair. "No, not anymore."

*** * ***

It took them a few hours to finally decide to come down, Ben assisting Rey in her venture down below. Once she felt the smooth grass of the forest against her skin, she was ready to say farewell and await tomorrow to see him, as much as she wanted to stay with him longer.

But Ben had other ideas.

She gasps when Ben leans down and tucks his arm behind her knees and back, lifting her up bridal style. On instinct, she immediately wraps her arms around his shoulders and grasps the fabric of his shirt as tightly as she could. He nuzzles his nose against her hair and mumbles something against her dark locks. 

"I would like to take you home," He swallows, as if doubting she would accept. "my home."

She remains silent, color blooming in her cheeks once she realized what that might mean. She knew well how man and woman had joined, from shy whispers of the town girls. She hadn't had the experience, no one was quite for her. But she couldn't help but feel _giddy_ at the thought of Ben's embrace and the warmth of his skin against hers.

They were bound for life as soulmates, and Rey suddenly found nothing wrong at how her dreams were filthy. Suddenly _liking_ the idea very much.

"Take me home."

*** * ***

When Rey was greeted by the cold of his quarters, she shivered, shoulders shivering once he placed her down. His room was spacious, barley furnished apart from the large bed, his armor stand, and dark wooden closet. A simple rug was adorning the floor and transparent curtains around the bed. The only light was of the moon that climbed through the window. 

He looks down at her and catches the way her teeth began to chatter and how her bottom lip trembles. He frowns at himself, displeased at himself for not warming the room up. Wordlessly, he picks up a quilt and wraps it around her shoulders. She gives him a bright smile that makes his heart melt as he arranges for her a place right in front of the hearth. 

She sits on her knees and shakes while he plops the pillows and blankets from his bed right around her. She giggled as he covers her up with blankets and she snuggles up the fabrics and pillows, sighing in relief at his scent in them. He hurriedly attempts to strike a spark at the hearth and light it up, failing a couple of times before finally the rich ambers of fire licked at the wood gathered in the hearth.

The warm light of the fire spread across the room, Rey's bare toes curling and her shoulders relaxing as the heat touched her skin. She looked at Ben, who was watching as if he was awaiting what she will say. She grinned and patted the spot beside her, lifting the blanket to make room for him under it with her. He smiled at her shyly and crawled over, removing his shoes and settling beside her in front of the fire, the blanket laying on his wide shoulders. 

The silence was comforting, Rey leaning her head against him as she snuggled deeper into the fort he created. It didn't take long for her hands to find his and hold them, her eyelashes fluttering close and a smile etched on her face at the innocence of all this, the silent affection and fondness he was gifting her. 

It felt strongly like home.

"Will it be...will it be a burden that I'm a shapeshifter?" He asked softly, her eyes opening and looking up at him. "I mean- you won't have to always be there in case I scare you-"

"You don't scare me," Rey says, one of her hands lifting and brushing against the thick raven mane of his, smiling at its softness. "you don't."

She feels more of her curiosity biting at her

"Show me," She watches as his eyes widen. "I've seen the buck, and watched the crow from afar, but I've never neared the wolf." She bites her lip. "Show me the wolf."

His mouth parts as he stares down at her, uncertainty flowing through his veins. But one more look at her determined eyes and he knew he shouldn't argue with her. "Okay," He whispers, slipping from the covers and backing a few steps away from her. "okay."

She watched as he balances on his knees, eyeing her to make sure she wants to see this, only for him to lower his upper half on the floor and close his eyes. Her mouth parts in awe as she watches him shudder and shake, his mouth parting to reveal the canines beginning to protrude from his gums. He hides his face with his elbow, as if ashamed of her watching him as he groans loudly.

To her surprise, there was no sound of bones cracking, or sight of blood seeping out. It had been smooth and quick as if done a thousand times before. Only the sound of his garments ripping and falling to the floor was heard in the air as dark fur covered his skin. Ben shudders and raises his upper half on his front legs, the large size of his new form evident. He looks down, his ears lowered and muzzle to the floor.

The beast stared at her as if waiting for her _approval_. Her eyes softened as she scrambled up to his form, he froze in smoke but did not move when her wings caressed the soft fur around his neck and rubbing behind his ears. She grinned as he bumped his snout against her nose by accident, a giggle escaping her lips when he did it again on her cheek, forehead, and chin. She couldn't help but notice how his tail began to wag back and forth. 

"You're beautiful, Ben." She kissed his muzzle, arms around his head. She sensed him shudder and change while she continued to nuzzle against him and kiss his face, his body slowly changing back to its human form. He sighed, content as she pressed her lips to his jaw. 

His hands held on to her shoulders and pulled her back for a second, his eyes on hers as his jaw clenched, his mind rushing while he thought of kissing her lips this time. 

This is when she noticed he was naked.

Her cheeks flared at the sight of his bare shoulders and muscled abdomen, gaze drifting down to his- _oh._ A gasp left her and she looked away, biting her lip as she replayed the image of strong thighs and an _interested, to add,_ manhood.

Ben sucks in a deep breath and leans down, his hands cupping her face and turning her head so her eyes lock with him. He releases a shuddered sigh when his nose brushed against hers, his breath fanning against her lips. Rey settles her hands on his and leaned forward so her mouth softly caressed his lips. 

Their lips pressed together and they hold on to each other tighter, falling on the pillows and blankets piled up in front of the hearth. It had been gentle and soft, eyes closed as she held on to his shoulders and he wrapping his arms around her waist. 

They parted and his pupils were larger, eyes seeming black. " _Rey- I..._ we don't have to-"

She pulls him back down and kisses him again, and all is forgotten. 

He shyly traces the seam of her lips with his tongue, she sighed against his mouth and opened hers, her tongue caressing his while he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. 

It was a silent affair of removing her garments, his hands tugging her skirts down and her tossing her clothes away from them, pulling him back down to feel her skin against his. She released a shuddered sigh at his warmth, closing her eyes while he planted kisses down her neck. Her skin burned after each time his lips pressed against her skin and his hands caressing her bare body.

He softly massaged the flesh on her chest, placing kisses and pressing his tongue against her heated flesh. She moaned softly and stroked his hair, his lips villainous and tugging at her nipples while he journeyed down. 

Her eyes flew open when she felt a finger caressing the insides of her thighs. She looks down, and Ben was leaning on one arm while his other hand close to her mound. He waited for her permission to continue, his eyes pleading. Slowly, she nodded and took a hold of his forearm with one hand while the other grasp the sheets.

He traced the seam of her nether lips, his cheeks ablaze as he parted her folds and sucked in a deep breath at the moist entrance. He searched for the spot that made her keen when he pressed against it, the small nub. He watched her face as he pleasured her with his thumb against her clit, his middle finger entering her slowly, grazing her walls while she moaned, eyes clenched shut.

He continued until her thighs shook and her breath hitched. He couldn't help but grin at her when she opened her eyes, removing his hand and softly kissing her lips until her breathing returned to normal.

Ben caressed her sides and up her arms before leaning down on his side as she snuggled up against him. He kissed her cheeks and lips, before hiding his face in the crook of her neck. "Sweetheart, has anybody told you that you're breathtaking?" She giggled when his fingers tickled her sides, lips pressing against her shoulders. He pulled the covers over them and cuddled her to his chest, her lips pressing kisses against where his heart is as he brushed his fingers down her hair.

" _Ben_ -" Rey looked up, eyebrows furrowing in realization. "you didn't-" She bit her lips and her hand brushed against his hip and back up to his shoulder. He smiled down at her and nodded. "I know. I didn't wish to dishonor you."

Her heart swelled, blushing at _that_ even after everything he did with her. 

He pressed his lips against her forehead, holding her hand and leaning down to chastely kiss her knuckles as well. "I'd hope to once we're wed." 

His eyes widened. "If you'd like to of course! I wouldn't want to force-"

She kissed him and quieted him, humming against his lips. "I would love to,"

They pulled each other closer and slept, hearts full and euphoric for whats to come.


End file.
